THE case for the prosecution of the alleged murderers of Tassos Isaac, to which the Irish are making a major contribution, may be submitted by the Republic of Cyprus to the European Court of Human Rights or other international forums.
Raising the case could either exacerbate tension between the island's two communities and their mainland Greek and Turkish sponsors or compel the two sides to retreat from confrontation and resume negotiations towards a settlement.
The murder under investigation is that of Mr Isaac, a 24 year old Greek Cypriot, which took place at the village of Dheiynia on August 11th. Mr Isaac, a refugee from the Turkish occupied port city of Famagusta, joined a group of 1,000 Greek Cypriots protesting against the division of the island by thrusting into the UN buffer zone and taunting mainland Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriots gathered behind the Turkish lines.
After about 1 1/2 hours of verbal abuse and stone throwing involving both sides, the zone was invaded by a similar number of counter demonstrators from the Turkish side and clashes ensued.
Mr Isaac was beaten to the ground while trying to escape and was bludgeoned to death within a lewd metres of Garda Sgt Lorraine Stack from Sligo and Garda Frank Flood from Kilkenny, who were attempting to rescue a second Greek Cypriot also under attack from the Turkish occupied area.
By the time Sgt Stack and Garda Flood turned their attention to Mr Isaac, it was "too late". All they could do was to drive away his attackers and drag the body from the scene. The official UN report on the incident commended the two gardai for trying to rescue the victim at "considerable personal risk".
The autopsy, performed 48 hours later, said Mr Isaac died from "multiple blunt trauma to the head". The attack had been videotaped and photographed from beginning to end by various television teams and press and UN photographers, providing a wealth of photographic evidence in the case.
Because the killing took place in the Garda's area of operations, the Pyla team is responsible for the investigation of the crime scene and interviewing UN police and troops from the Austrian contingent who were on duty at Dherynia that sweltering Sunday afternoon.
The officer in charge, Chief Supt Liam Quinn of Co Clare told The Irish Times that his officers had completed the forensic investigation of the crime scene and taken statements. The key witnesses were Sgt Stack and Garda Flood who were, as the folio of photographs assembled by the Cyprus police shows, literally back to back with the killers as they were beating Mr Isaac to death.
(Eight gardai were also at a second demonstration on August 14th when another Greek Cypriot, Mr Solomos Solomou, was killed, but the Irish have handed over that investigation to the Australian police contingent.)
Supt Malt Cosgrave of Connemara said the aspect of the incident he and his colleagues found "most shocking was the involvement of Turkish Cypriot police" who were in uniform and wielding police issue batons as well as long staves. "There should be no problem in identifying them from the photographs," stated Supt Cosgrave. "We have applied for assistance" from the Turkish Cypriot police "via the [UN] force commander", he added.
This indirect approach shows that in spite of the straightforward nature of the all too public murder case, its conduct is complicated. The crime took place in the UN buffer zone where Chief Supt Quinn said his team had the authority to investigate but not to prosecute.
According to Mr Peter Sehmitz, the political adviser of the UN head of mission, "the status of the buffer zone was defined by the UN in 1974" following the Turkish occupation of the northern third of the island. At that time, the Cyprus "government ceded to Unifeyp [UN Interim Force in Cyprus] full control" over the buffer zone. This means the "UN can put together our own investigation make a factual finding, but we cannot pursue a proper legal process", he asserted.
When crimes are committed in the zone by members of either community, the UN investigation is normally submitted to the authorities of the relevant side for prosecution. In this case, the "Cyprus police could use the good offices of the UN which could act as a conduit to hand over warrants" to the Turkish Cypriot side, Mr Schmitz stated.
He admitted this would be difficult in this case, however, because there was clear evidence the Turkish Cypriot counter demonstration was not "spontaneous" but "premeditated". As proof, he said the armed elements were bused to the ceasefire line through a 3 km wide Turkish military exclusion zone and that among the armed men were members of the ultra nationalist mainland Turkish "Grey Wolves" movement (founded in the 1950s by a Turkish Cypriot, Mr Alparslan Turkesh).
And then there were the Turkish Cypriot police. Furthermore, in the view of Supt Cosgrave, the Turkish demonstrators seemed to be acting according to plan. "The plan was to hit as many [Greek Cypriots] as possible. There was no attempt by the Turkish police to arrest them."
So far, 11 suspects, including several Turkish Cypriot policemen, have been identified by the Greek Cypriot police. But since the Turkish Cypriot side is implicated in the crime, it is unlikely any action would be taken against the alleged perpetrators.
However, the Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus has under consideration "five courses of action" which could be taken to bring the guilty parties to book. While deciding on which to follow, Cyprus intends to issue international arrest warrants against the suspects, which would make it impossible for them to travel outside northern Cyprus and Turkey.
Mr Stephanos Stephanou, the Irish Consul injured during the fatal clashes, said firmly: "The government is going to pursue the case on the international level until those responsible are held accountable.
